Labour: We DO take games seriously

The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the games industry and announced plans for further economic support, after the Conservative Party claimed that Labour was not doing enough to support the sector in last week's MCV (cover, 17/08).

Speaking exclusively to MCV, Margaret Hodge, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism said: We have definitely begun to more fully recognise and articulate the contribution of video games to the UK economy as a whole. We are investing heavily in supporting skills development particularly through the sector skills councils and UKTI has in recent years concentrated closely on the video games sector with, for example, missions and events around trade shows.”

Hodge went on to say that further money has been earmarked for the industry as part of a wider support scheme.

The Creative Economy Programme is exploring how Government can support the creative industries in general, This will examine market drivers such as skills, innovation and competition. The games industry is a significant sector within this work.

Of course we want to do what we can to sustain and grow the video games industry in the UK. We are keeping the global competitive environment under close review.”